Forrester Research Inc. estimates that online marketers will spend $514 million on web analytics this year, including service fees to vendors and software installation support and licensing fees. That’s 19.1% more than last year, growth that demonstrates the increasingly important role analytics plays in the success of online marketing and sales.

As the online channel grows, individual sites gain more traffic. That means the audience is larger for both what’s working well on a retailer’s site and what isn’t. It’s the latter issue that is the top reason e-retailers surveyed recently by the Aberdeen Group use analytics: 43% of the best-performing retailers said their adoption of analytics stemmed from a need to find and fix rough spots in the customer experience at their sites.

Gauging the performance of web site features such as product search or cross-sells and upsells is critical because they affect not only what a consumer experiences at the site, but what she tells others about that experience, notes Greg Belkins, Aberdeen Group analyst.

63% of the retailers defined as best in class, based on the retailer’s conversion rate and gross margin, have used an analytics program for more than a year, according to Aberdeen’s report, “Retail e-commerce analytics: Cornerstone of the complete customer profile.”

Retailers have used analytics mainly to guide search engine optimization, search engine marketing, and other initiatives to drive traffic to sites, according to Aberdeen. 53% of the top performers surveyed use analytics to measure conversions on site as a key indicator of online success. 50% monitor conversions daily and 43% monitor shopping cart abandonment daily.

Dynamic Presentation

Almost half of the top group of retailers surveyed look beyond conversion and carts to capture customers’ interactions at all points in the purchase process, from browsing to after the transaction is completed, Aberdeen notes. These retailers use analytics to probe customer history prior to promoting new products to that customer for insight on her preferred contact method and the products and promotions likely to resonate with her.

As a customer moves through the purchase process, analytic data allows the retailer to dynamically adjust what’s presented to her based on her past behavior and that of other customers. And after the shopper completes a purchase, data from analytics can help retailers follow up with compelling offers.

Some retail analysts say that the utility of analytics is poised to move beyond what happens on web sites themselves to play a larger marketing role in organizations. They argue that the rich information on customer behavior that web analytics packages capture can be used to drive retailers’ marketing decisions across channels.

Unleash the power

In his report, “How web analytics will emerge as a cornerstone of customer intelligence,” Forrester analyst Joseph Stanhope says that marketers are underutilizing the full power of customer data that can be gleaned from the online channel. They’re limited by factors such as insufficient staffing to effectively manage analytics programs, and silos that prevent the sharing of data among departments and channels within companies.

As companies address those issues, analytics will change how decisions are made, not just about the web but across multichannel marketing, he predicts, and as soon as within the next two to three years.

“To put that insight into action, firms must leverage web analytics beyond isolated web site marketing and operations to feed analysis, decision support and execution for the entire marketing function,” Stanhope says.

Web Analytics

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Select up to 3 Companies to Compare

Web Analytics / Web Analytics

TradeGlobal

Cincinnati, OH.

TradeGlobal is an end-to-end e-commerce provider offering a range of systems and applications in the categories of content management, customer service, e-commerce systems, fulfillment and delivery, supply chain, global applications, marketing, order management, web analytics, and data systems. The company’s ... Read More

TradeGlobal is an end-to-end e-commerce provider offering a range of systems and applications in the categories of content management, customer service, e-commerce systems, fulfillment and delivery, supply chain, global applications, marketing, order management, web analytics, and data systems. The company’s products are designed to unify an e-retailer’s marketing strategies, supply chain logistics and customer data across domestic and international boundaries. TradeGlobal’s TG Commerce is a software-as-a-service global e-commerce application providing localized payment, fraud protection, regulatory compliance, foreign exchange management and other features of international commerce. TG Enterprise is a client-controlled, cloud-based global supply chain management application designed to standardize omni-channel commerce.

Company Facts

Year Established

2001

Product / Services

End-to-end e-commerce service provider

Entry Level / Typical Pricing

Pricing and fees vary; company would not disclose specific pricing information.

AbsolutData.com

AbsolutData provides analytics, predictive modeling, reporting and data management services. The firm helps clients with marketing strategy, spending and effectiveness; customer acquisition, growth and retention; and campaign management. AbsolutData received $20 million in funding from Fidelity Growth in 2012. The ... Read More

AbsolutData provides analytics, predictive modeling, reporting and data management services. The firm helps clients with marketing strategy, spending and effectiveness; customer acquisition, growth and retention; and campaign management. AbsolutData received $20 million in funding from Fidelity Growth in 2012. The company opened a U.K. office in January 2013 and says it plans further expansion.

Acteea Inc.

Salt Lake City, UT.

Acteea is a provider of Software-as-a-Service-based business analytics software called Enterprise eCommerce Analytics. Acteea uses an industry standard model to generate customer segments, and a combination of order values, units sold and margins to profile the best performing products. The ... Read More

Acteea is a provider of Software-as-a-Service-based business analytics software called Enterprise eCommerce Analytics. Acteea uses an industry standard model to generate customer segments, and a combination of order values, units sold and margins to profile the best performing products. The software allows Internet retailers to define, compare and save customer segments based on profitability, frequency of purchases, products purchased and marketing activity response.

AgilOne Inc.

Mountain View, CA .

In June 2013, analytics firm AgilOne launched an e-mail edition of its cloud-based predictive marketing platform, which assists retailers in determining how customers will respond to online and in-store merchandising and e-mail campaigns. The company provides reports based on its ... Read More

In June 2013, analytics firm AgilOne launched an e-mail edition of its cloud-based predictive marketing platform, which assists retailers in determining how customers will respond to online and in-store merchandising and e-mail campaigns. The company provides reports based on its analytics data, which segment e-mail recipients by level of engagement, such as past open and click-through rates.

Anametrix Inc.

San Diego, CA.

Anametrix, provider of a cloud-based, real-time digital analytics platform, in January 2013 announced the promotion of chief marketing officer Pelin Thorogood to CEO. The move followed the company’s $4.4 million Series A funding round from venture capital firm TVC Capital ... Read More

Anametrix, provider of a cloud-based, real-time digital analytics platform, in January 2013 announced the promotion of chief marketing officer Pelin Thorogood to CEO. The move followed the company’s $4.4 million Series A funding round from venture capital firm TVC Capital in late 2012. Thorogood succeeded co-founder and chairman Blaise Barrelet and will lead a phase of growth, Anametrix says.

ClearSaleing

Columbus, OH.

Attribution management is at the center of ClearSaleing’s Purchase Path Technology which enables Internet retailers to accurately measure, compare and optimize profit across their online advertising portfolio. Marketers can configure ClearSaleing to assign a cost to organic traffic for each ... Read More

Attribution management is at the center of ClearSaleing’s Purchase Path Technology which enables Internet retailers to accurately measure, compare and optimize profit across their online advertising portfolio. Marketers can configure ClearSaleing to assign a cost to organic traffic for each search engine, providing a legitimate basis of comparison to paid advertising alternatives. ClearSaleing offers custom attribution settings so advertisers can assign weight to ads.

ClickTale

ClickTale is a provider of customer experience analytics giving retailers insights into their customers’ online behavior. ClickTale tracks every mouse move, click and scroll, creating playable videos of customers’ entire browsing sessions. It also creates heatmaps—visual representations of what visitors ... Read More

ClickTale is a provider of customer experience analytics giving retailers insights into their customers’ online behavior. ClickTale tracks every mouse move, click and scroll, creating playable videos of customers’ entire browsing sessions. It also creates heatmaps—visual representations of what visitors are looking at and focusing on within a web page—and behavioral reports that complement traditional web analytics. ClickTale is a fully hosted subscription service.

CRM Metrix Inc.

Secaucus, NJ.

CRM Metrix collects customer feedback to measure the success of retailers’ digital media and marketing campaigns. Its digital market research applications are designed for all marketing such as web sites, digital advertisements, online campaigns, e-mail programs, social media, blogs, widgets ... Read More

CRM Metrix collects customer feedback to measure the success of retailers’ digital media and marketing campaigns. Its digital market research applications are designed for all marketing such as web sites, digital advertisements, online campaigns, e-mail programs, social media, blogs, widgets and microsites. The company offices are in Mumbai, New Jersey, New York, Paris and Singapore.

Domo Inc.

American Fork, UT.

Domo, provider of a cloud-based business intelligence platform, in March 2013 announced $60 million in Series B financing, bringing its total funding to more than $125 million, the company says. Investors in the latest round include GGV Capital and Greylock ... Read More

Domo, provider of a cloud-based business intelligence platform, in March 2013 announced $60 million in Series B financing, bringing its total funding to more than $125 million, the company says. Investors in the latest round include GGV Capital and Greylock Partners. Domo, which Omniture co-founder Josh James launched in 2011, says the new funds give it flexibility to accelerate plans for growth.

eClerx Services Ltd.

New York, NY.

EClerx, a Mumbai company, offers data analytics, data management and process improvement services. The company provides retailers with benchmarking against competitors’ online catalogs, products, promotions and pricing strategies. The company also offers diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive analytics and reporting and ... Read More

EClerx, a Mumbai company, offers data analytics, data management and process improvement services. The company provides retailers with benchmarking against competitors’ online catalogs, products, promotions and pricing strategies. The company also offers diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive analytics and reporting and analysis of web performance and customer behavior.

Encore Media Metrics

Houston, TX.

Encore Media Metrics sells SiteCompass, an analytics platform that queries and captures online impressions, clicks and conversions for merchants and other marketers. The platform aggregates and syncs up impression data with site visitor data, enabling clients to analyze overall campaign ... Read More

Encore Media Metrics sells SiteCompass, an analytics platform that queries and captures online impressions, clicks and conversions for merchants and other marketers. The platform aggregates and syncs up impression data with site visitor data, enabling clients to analyze overall campaign performance, conversion path, vendor performance and placement and impression value and distribution.

Ensighten

Cupertino, CA.

In August 2013, Ensighten, a provider of tag management programs, announced the company had served over 650 billion digital marketing tags to the web sites of leading global retailers during the second quarter of 2013. Tag management is the ability ... Read More

In August 2013, Ensighten, a provider of tag management programs, announced the company had served over 650 billion digital marketing tags to the web sites of leading global retailers during the second quarter of 2013. Tag management is the ability to manage user-generated tags within collaborative software. Tags encourage navigation efficiency and compliance with an existing taxonomy.

ForeSee

Ann Arbor, MI.

ForeSee provides customer experience analytics technology for web sites, call centers, stores, mobile sites and apps, and social media. In July 2013, the company introduced a Word of Mouth Index, which rates major brands according to what consumers think of ... Read More

ForeSee provides customer experience analytics technology for web sites, call centers, stores, mobile sites and apps, and social media. In July 2013, the company introduced a Word of Mouth Index, which rates major brands according to what consumers think of them. ForeSee says the metric helps companies understand who their detractors are and better allocate resources.

Grand River Inc.

Ann Arbor, MI.

Grand River develops and integrates e-commerce platforms and applications for mid-market retailers and multichannel customers, specializing in open-source platforms such as Magento and Demandware. The company uses analytics tools, including Google Analytics and Webtrends, to identify trends, conversion metrics, sales ... Read More

Grand River develops and integrates e-commerce platforms and applications for mid-market retailers and multichannel customers, specializing in open-source platforms such as Magento and Demandware. The company uses analytics tools, including Google Analytics and Webtrends, to identify trends, conversion metrics, sales funnels, consumer segments, browser preferences and other retailer data.

IBM Enterprise Marketing Management

Waltham, MA.

In June 2013, IBM released updates to its Smarter Commerce suite, including a tool to parse through consumer sentiment data on social networks to help marketers track how shoppers view brands. In addition, the company in July 2013 acquired cloud ... Read More

In June 2013, IBM released updates to its Smarter Commerce suite, including a tool to parse through consumer sentiment data on social networks to help marketers track how shoppers view brands. In addition, the company in July 2013 acquired cloud computing infrastructure provider Softlayer Technologies Inc., which IBM says will expand its ability to offer data storage and computing services.

Informatica Corp.

Redwood City, CA.

Informatica, a provider of data integration software, in September 2013 announced a partnership with Tableau Software, a business analytics software developer. The collaboration gives retailers and others access to Tableau’s self-service-based business analytics, as well as the enterprise-scale data integration, ... Read More

Informatica, a provider of data integration software, in September 2013 announced a partnership with Tableau Software, a business analytics software developer. The collaboration gives retailers and others access to Tableau’s self-service-based business analytics, as well as the enterprise-scale data integration, big data analytics and real-time operational intelligence of the Informatica platform.

InsightsOne Inc.

Santa Clara, CA.

Analytics firm InsightsOne in April 2013 added new features to its InsightsOne Predictive Intelligence platform, including Marketing Workspace, which allows retailers and other marketers to analyze customers, predict behavior and optimize campaigns. The platform also delivers integrated structured and unstructured ... Read More

Analytics firm InsightsOne in April 2013 added new features to its InsightsOne Predictive Intelligence platform, including Marketing Workspace, which allows retailers and other marketers to analyze customers, predict behavior and optimize campaigns. The platform also delivers integrated structured and unstructured big data analytics and packaged connectors for short message service and e-mail integration.

iPerceptions Inc.

Montreal, Quebec.

Analytics company iPerceptions sells Active Research, a software platform that enables merchants to create surveys and custom digital comment cards that web site visitors can fill out with their thoughts and opinions. The platform provides retailers with industry benchmarks. They ... Read More

Analytics company iPerceptions sells Active Research, a software platform that enables merchants to create surveys and custom digital comment cards that web site visitors can fill out with their thoughts and opinions. The platform provides retailers with industry benchmarks. They can view and analyze survey results in real time; filter, flag and categorize comments; and schedule automatic reports.

Company Facts

Year Established

2000

Product / Services

iPerceptions Active Research Platform

Entry Level / Typical Pricing

Premium plan starts at $399/mo., enterprise level plans are custom-built and priced based on Active Research Solutions needs; basic free plan available

Kampyle Ltd.

Ramat Gan, NA.

Kampyle offers a Software-as-a-Service analytics platform that allows retailers to collect, analyze, measure and respond to online user feedback and then deliver the data to sales and marketing teams via a lead generation dashboard. Merchants can use the dashboard to ... Read More

Kampyle offers a Software-as-a-Service analytics platform that allows retailers to collect, analyze, measure and respond to online user feedback and then deliver the data to sales and marketing teams via a lead generation dashboard. Merchants can use the dashboard to get an overview of lead segmentation by type and to examine specific cases to determine conversion status.

Company Facts

Year Established

2007

Product / Services

Kampyle Feedback Analytics

Entry Level / Typical Pricing

Entry price is $99/mo.; small business packages up to $14,990/year, mid-market and enterprise packages quoted separately

Mu Sigma Inc.

Northbrook, IL.

Mu Sigma is a provider of business analytics software that works with several third party technologies in order to solve complex problems using data driven analytics processes. Mu Sigma says its relationship managers work closely with clients to assimilate decision ... Read More

Mu Sigma is a provider of business analytics software that works with several third party technologies in order to solve complex problems using data driven analytics processes. Mu Sigma says its relationship managers work closely with clients to assimilate decision makers and familiarize them with research and analytics tools like marketing, risk and supply chain analytics.

NeuStar is a provider of converged messaging and Internet Protocol services. It's GSMA PathFinder, operated by NeuStar for the GSM Association, translates telephone numbers into Internet Protocol-based addresses. Neustar's Multimedia Interconnect Services offer routing for the swift, reliable, and cost-effective delivery of short message service and multimedia service messages.

Omniture

Orem, UT.

Omniture, a unit of Adobe Systems, is a provider of online business optimization software. Its SiteCatalyst software gives marketers real-time web analytics intelligence about digital strategies and marketing initiatives. It helps identify the most profitable paths through a web site, ... Read More

Omniture, a unit of Adobe Systems, is a provider of online business optimization software. Its SiteCatalyst software gives marketers real-time web analytics intelligence about digital strategies and marketing initiatives. It helps identify the most profitable paths through a web site, segment traffic to spot high-value web visitors, determine where visitors are navigating away from the site and identifies metrics for successful online marketing campaigns.

Parker Software

Orlando, FL.

Parker Software is a software developer that produces two flagship products: WhosOn, a visitor tracking and live chat application, and Email2DB, an e-mail parser and business process automation service. WhosOn is a comprehensive application for web statistics, live chat, proactive ... Read More

Parker Software is a software developer that produces two flagship products: WhosOn, a visitor tracking and live chat application, and Email2DB, an e-mail parser and business process automation service. WhosOn is a comprehensive application for web statistics, live chat, proactive live chat, prospect detection and real-time customer support ticketing. Its Email2DB system automatically converts e-mail to database records so that retailers are able to automate responses and e-mail follow-ups.

Company Facts

Year Established

2003

Product / Services

WhosOn 2011 & Email2DB V2.3

Entry Level / Typical Pricing

From $39/mo. for WhosOn; Email2DB pricing from $295, outright purchase

Pivotal Software Inc.

Palo Alto, CA.

Pivotal Software develops application and data infrastructure software, and offers development services and data science consulting to businesses. Based on open source and open standards, Pivotal has developed Pivotal One, a cloud based enterprise platform as a service, or PaaS, ... Read More

Pivotal Software develops application and data infrastructure software, and offers development services and data science consulting to businesses. Based on open source and open standards, Pivotal has developed Pivotal One, a cloud based enterprise platform as a service, or PaaS, system. The PaaS enables software developers to create modern applications and manage and analyze results from big data.

RJMetrics

Philadelphia, PA.

RJMetrics offers a software-as-a-service data analysis platform for online retailers and other businesses. The platform analyzes the customer lifetime value for each marketing channel used by a retailer and uses it to calculate return on investment. RJMetrics offers comprehensive revenue ... Read More

RJMetrics offers a software-as-a-service data analysis platform for online retailers and other businesses. The platform analyzes the customer lifetime value for each marketing channel used by a retailer and uses it to calculate return on investment. RJMetrics offers comprehensive revenue cycle reporting, tracking marketing campaigns from impression to click to purchase to repurchase. The platform also allows retailers to identify customer segments based on purchase history to reach them with offers, promotions, e-mail marketing and retargeting. Retailers can identify why a customer makes a purchase but fails to return for future purchases. RJMetrics includes a broad package of metrics, including churn and subscription analysis.

TrackIf

Minnetonka,, MN.

TrackIf provides a free web watch list for consumers who search or shop online. It actively tracks more than 1,000 sites online and alerts users on price changes, special offers, in-stock notifications and new item posts for the exact products ... Read More

TrackIf provides a free web watch list for consumers who search or shop online. It actively tracks more than 1,000 sites online and alerts users on price changes, special offers, in-stock notifications and new item posts for the exact products they want. Online retailers can use TrackIf’s Watch List application to increase conversions. The retailer installs TrackIf scripts on his site and can use the TrackIf dashboard to monitor activity. The company sends out branded alerts to shoppers on the retailer’s behalf and consumers use TrackIf to see where any product is on sale across the web or see the price change history of any product prior to purchasing. TrackIf also tracks house prices, cars and motor vehicles, appliances, stock prices, vacation deals, Craigslist and eBay auctions.

Company Facts

Year Established

2012

Product / Services

Remarketing CPC

Entry Level / Typical Pricing

Pricing and fees vary; company would not disclose specific pricing information.

Unica Corp.

Waltham, MA.

Unica Corp. has upgraded its NetInsight analytics application, with features that include visual selection and targeting and paid search integration. With the paid search integration option, users can enhance their pay-per-click campaign reports with additional data on paid keyword costs, ... Read More

Unica Corp. has upgraded its NetInsight analytics application, with features that include visual selection and targeting and paid search integration. With the paid search integration option, users can enhance their pay-per-click campaign reports with additional data on paid keyword costs, impressions, clickthroughs, match type and average rank. Using this data, marketers can automate significant campaign key performance indicators such as cost per acquisition for lead generation, return on ad spend for e-commerce sites, and cost per page view for publishers. The visual selection and targeting feature enables retailers to segment web site visitor reports to identify promising visitor segments.

Company Facts

Year Established

1992

Product / Services

Unica NetInsight

Entry Level / Typical Pricing

Unica NetInsight offers pricing options ranging from hundreds of thousands of pageviews per month to sites with billions of pageviews; at the entry level, prices start at $600/mo. for on demand and $400/mo. for on premise

Webtrends Inc.

Portland, OR.

WebTrends provides unified mobile, social and web analytics and engagement. It helps marketers create, measure and improve campaigns. Retailers can use the company’s technology to measure, optimize and integrate digital content and customer intelligence, including web sites, social media, mobile ... Read More

WebTrends provides unified mobile, social and web analytics and engagement. It helps marketers create, measure and improve campaigns. Retailers can use the company’s technology to measure, optimize and integrate digital content and customer intelligence, including web sites, social media, mobile and paid search advertising. It can incorporate third-party data from Facebook, Twitter, iTunes, Bit.ly, really simple syndication and other sources. WebTrends also offers report customization.

Company Facts

Year Established

1993

Product / Services

WebTrends Analytics 10, available in software and an on-demand hosted format; WebTrends Social, a social media management platform